I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my “World Kit” that I play with the Piper Jones Band, so I thought I’d provide some details.
I’ve played percussion since I was around 11 years old, and I got my first drum kit when I was 17. I played in hard rock bands in Austin, TX in the early 90’s, but after working hard for many years and not getting much of anywhere, I decided to try my hand at folk music. I was heavily influenced by Old Blind Dogs (one of Scotland’s premier modern folk groups) and their original drummer Davy Cattanach. So I went out and bought a set of congas and formed the band Two O’Clock Courage.
In 1997 I co-founded the celtic rock band SixMileBridge in Houston, TX. Somewhere around that time I got my first taste of playing djembe, and I found that it was much more suited to my playing style…plus I could get about the same amount of tones from a single drum! While most of the band’s material was rock-based, I was able to incorporate the djembe, bodhran, and other percussion into the mix to keep things interesting.
In 1999 I started playing with other artists and bands (most notably Poor Man’s Fortune), and began experimenting with a “world kit” built around the djembe, with standard kick drum, hi-hats, and assorted cymbals. This gave me the flexibility of a large sound in a fairly small foot print, and it could scale up or down based on the volume and intensity of the gig. Most recently, the world kit can be heard on the Piper Jones Band album “Crossing the Sabine”, and on my solo album “Sheep’s Clothing” (released March, 2020).
Here are details on the kit as it stands today:
DRUMS
12″ Remo Mondo Djembe
10″ Meinl Aluminum Doumbek
13″ Meinl Hand-Bale
14″ Premier XPK Floor Tom
Meinl Woodcraft Professional Series Cajon
CYMBALS
10″ Sabian AA Rocktagon
12″ Paiste Twenty Series Hi-Hats
11″ UFIP Class Series Splash
8″ UFIP Class Series Splash
16″ Sabian Evolution HHX Crash
16″ UFIP Experience Series China
10″ Paiste 900 Series Splash
TOYS
Meinl Headliner Series Hi-Hat Tambourine
LP Jam Block – Medium
LP Rock Ridge Ridger Cowbell
Meinl Turbo Crasher
6″ LP Rancan Bell
9″ LP Ice Bell
HARDWARE
Yamaha HHS-3 Hi-Hat Stand
Yamaha HW-780 Cymbal Arms
Roland VDrum Rack
Yamaha Bass Drum Pedal
Meinl Steel Multi Clamps